Opened July 5th, 2025, and running through May 31st, 2026, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago unveils City in a Garden: Queer Art and Activism in Chicago—a powerful exhibition exploring the city’s pivotal yet often overlooked role in shaping queer cultural and political life. Blending art and activism, the show reflects on how queer artists and collectives have used creative expression as a tool for resistance, healing, and reimagination.
History of activism revisited through queer perspectives
Curated by Jack Schneider with Korina Hernandez, City in a Garden traces a rich history of activism from the mid-1980s to today. The exhibition begins with the radical response of queer communities to the AIDS crisis, when “queer” was reclaimed as a badge of defiance and solidarity. Divided into five thematic zones—Garden, Club, Street, Cinema, and Utopia—the exhibition maps the ways queer life has blossomed and continues to evolve in Chicago’s cultural landscape.
Spotlight on works and artists: from clubs to collective memory
Drawing from the MCA collection and local archives, the show features more than 30 artists and collectives. Highlights include Brendan Fernandes’s The Rite (2019), a choreographed installation that explores queerness, ritual, and performance—activated throughout the show with live performances. Doug Ischar’s photographs capture hidden queer spaces from the late 20th century, while Edie Fake’s intricate drawings reimagine architectural blueprints as symbols of queer bodies and community. Archival materials, video works, and sculptural pieces expand the narrative, bridging personal memory and collective history.
Taking its name from Chicago’s official motto, Urbs in Horto (city in a garden), the exhibition envisions the city as a sanctuary for all identities. As curator Schneider puts it, this “garden” becomes both a metaphor for queer flourishing and a call to continued resistance in the face of renewed political threats.
Whether you’re engaging with the bold installations or attending a late-night celebration, City in a Garden is an urgent and moving reminder of how art and activism have shaped—and continue to shape—Chicago’s queer identity.
Two Young Men and Waves, 1985. Digital print from original negative
Courtesy of PATRIC MCCOY, Chicago
Drinking Water (Cowboy), 2017. Oil, acrylic, and glitter on metallic silk; 84 × 72 1/16 in. (213.4 × 183 cm)
Collection MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART Chicago, Gift of KATHERINE S. SCHAMBERG by exchange, 2018.9. © 2017 PAUL HEYER. Photography by NATHAN KEAY, © MCA Chicago
Soundsuit, 2008. Mixed media with mannequin; 100 x 25 x 14 in. (254 x 63.5 x 35.6 cm)
Collection MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART Chicago, Promised gift of MARILYN and LARRY FIELDS, PG2023.21. Photography by JAMES PRINZ
to render the infinite, 2021. 11 minutes, 23 seconds; one channel video; 16:9 ratio
Courtesy of ZAKKIYYAH NAJEEBAH DUMAS-O’NEAL, CHICAGO FILM ARCHIVES, and TERRA FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN ART